Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker of Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament of India) led a delegation of Members of Parliament of India to Russia for 4th India-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Commission on 11 July 2017. She held bilateral discussions with His Excellency Mr. VyacheslavVolodin, Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest as well as increasing cooperation between the Parliaments of both the countries through creation of India-Russia Friendship Groups of Parliamentarians in the respective Parliaments, encouraging Young Parliamentarians to meet each other including through the new Speaker’s Research Initiative created in India, and increasing the frequency of interactions amongst the Parliaments of both India and Russia to better understand and cooperate with each other. Many new areas in which this relationship can be forged were discussed. Speaker invited His Excellency Mr. Volodin to visit India for the next meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission at an early mutually convenient time which, His Excellency Mr. Volodin readily accepted.
During the bilateral meeting, His Excellency Mr. Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation expressed his condolences as well as of the Deputies of the State Duma on the atrocious terrorist attack in India on 10 July 2017 (in Anantnag) where innocent people were killed and stated that it was inadmissible.Expressing strong solidarity of Russia on India’s fight against terrorism, he also stated that all countries should join hands in fighting against this evil of terrorism.
Speaker also met H.E. Mrs. Valentina Matviyenko, Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and discussed bilateral relations. H.E. Mrs. Matviyenko also conveyed her condolences on the terrorist incident of 10 July 2017.
During the 4th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Commission discussions were held with the participation of Members of Parliament of both sides in which the possibilities of Parliaments to facilitate and support the bilateral relations between India and Russia in the fields of trade, economic, cultural cooperation, enhancing the privileged strategic partnership including development of the BRICS and SCO parliamentary discussions, regional stability and safety including struggle against terrorism and extremism in bilateral and multilateral formats were discussed.
Moscow
12 July 2017
